Ignis Fatuus
by MasterChick
Summary: The future has never been too kind to people like him. Gajeel didn't give it much thought about his future, and he didn't care about it. It wasn't until he saw her smile that his future seemed...possible. Gajeel X Levy; GaLe, Gajevy. Fairy Tail. Criticism welcomed. Strong Language.


**Ignis Fatuus: A Gajeel Story**

**Fanfiction Written By: Lexa aka MasterChick**

**All rights belong to Mashima Hiro and their respected companies**

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I've never thought much about the future…

To be honest, Metalicana didn't teach me anything about what came next, let alone he really didn't have plans of his own (except for leaving me…that bastard). Since the day he left, I was on my own without anything, but the clothes on my back and a bad attitude that scared people away. Most of them, anyway, Juvia seemed like she had the balls to talk to me once in a while, other than that people didn't dare come near me. When I look back, I really was a fucking bastard. All the shit I had done to the people in Phantom Lord, when they went to war against Fairy Tail, and all those people I hurt on both fronts. Levy…man, I was messed up and if Metalicana saw me then, he would chew my metal ass.

With nothing to go for after Phantom Lord disbanded, I was thankful at least for Master Makarov's offer and guidance, hoping to return to the swing of things with a job and money to live on by. However, unlike Phantom Lord, Fairy Tail didn't want to leave me alone. I wanted to be the same sullen person in the guild again, people that would stay away from me. These Fairy bastards drag me out to beat the crap out of me, even though I deserved it. They asked me to help them against one of their own and I even teamed up with fucking Salamander in order to defeat him. And every time I get dragged along with them, I feel as though I am becoming soft, becoming…nice—one of them—I didn't deserve it. The shit I had done, all I was was a guy who wallowed in the past, and the guy who did those bad things in the past. The decisions I had made were all shit. And I would look back and wished that I took it all back. Never would I have thought of the future.

Maybe because the future has never been kind to people like me.

I wasn't alone anymore. Panther Lily became my cat or Exceed, and became more than just that; he was my partner and a friend. He knew the score, we were not that much different, and he had advice that trumps Metalicana's words of wisdom (more lack there of). Damn, Lily…for a reserved cat, he would ask a lot of fucking questions from the rumors he heard around the guild. Eventually, he heard my version of the story; short and sweet. If it wasn't for him and not being picked to take the exam, I wouldn't have stepped up and offered my hand to the little shrimp. Of course, everyone had there assumptions on why I did it; to redeem myself for what I did to her in the past, and for getting an opportunity to kick asses without getting in trouble for it. In a way, it was a little bit of both. I didn't know it then, but I was (sort of) thinking about the future. Redemption by making Levy an S-Class Mage.

If only Metalicana and my old self could see me now. Sure, some of us lost about seven years, but it really didn't make a difference on how we lived our lives. A lot had happened on the island and my friendship with Lily and Levy took off in a tortuous path only making it stronger with each day. And with each day, I didn't care much of the past, and I guess it was Levy's unsaid acceptance of my unsaid apology that made my old ruminate self slowly non-existent. Slowly, but surely, I wanted to find my old man. It was because I wasn't alone in that either. And I wanted to tell him about her.

"Gajeel!" Levy shouted my name.

Man, what a fucked up battle. I thought it was the end. Everything was falling to shit and hope was a fraction away from disappearing for good. We did it. All of us did it somehow.

"Oi, Shrimp," I panted, sitting myself down on the torn up brick road, and leaned back on a fallen column. "You okay?" She fell beside me, scrapping her already scraped knees on the debris covered ground.

"I'm fine." Levy cried out. "What about you? Are you okay? Those wounds—" That face. The look in her hazel eyes were filled with worry over someone like me, but who could blame her. I was worried about her too, even though we all knew she was tough as nails.

"Gihii," I smiled, painfully hiding behind it. "I should ask you the same thing."

It was times like this that made me realize that living for the now wasn't enough. What if another bad decision cost me Lily or Levy's lives? And what of my own recklessness? What good am I if I were dead? Who would protect Levy? Who would tell Metalicana about her?

The future…was never kind to people like me…or their loved ones.

"Gajeel…" The worried look, I would never know if it disappeared once I pulled her into my big arms, hugging her without crushing her. "W-What are you—" I didn't say a word, nothing needed to be said. Call it being soft after hanging out with the Fairy bastards all this time, but then again, I think I would have to accept the fact I am one of those soft and glorious bastards. Most importantly it was because of her I turned out like this. Because of her, I wouldn't think of turning back to my old self. My old self would call it redemption for what I had done.

Now, I am at her side, because I want to.

"Levy! Gajeel!" His voice broke us apart and he glided slowly towards us with wounds of his own. "Are you okay?" He didn't seem bothered by his wounds.

"Nothin' we couldn't handle." I roared, forcing a laugh.

"I'm fine," Levy chuckled. "What about you, Lily?"

"Never better!" Lily mimicked us, smiling almost too keenly despite our condition.

It was that laugh that made me turn towards the little woman beside me. She gaped back at me, wondering why I was staring at her, but then she smiled instead of pressing on about her curiosity. In the midst of diminishing chaos, Levy smiled in all of it. Beaten, battered and bruised, she let out a smile that could not be forced.

Suddenly, my future seems possible. Almost appealing, and it is because of her and her hopeful smile.

Levy is the future worth living for.

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A/N: Oh. My. God.

First off, a fanfic that isn't Soul Eater?!

Second, a fanfic that is a one shot?!

Third, a fanfic written in first person?!

Okay, I am done! *Takes a deep breath*

I am actually writing several Fairy Tail Fanfics as a side project from my novels. I wrote one during the World Cup and it is soccer centric, so I am finishing that up now. I am also working on a series of one shots, which are still in the outlining stages. Anyways, this is something I wrote just now after watching the seventh season of _Dexter_. You could say that the episode, Do you see what I see? Influenced this oneshot. Forgive me for the OCness of this one shot. I have been a Soul Eater writer for a very long time and now I am doing Fairy Tail for fun. Tell me what you think, and go easy on me…it's my first time writing Fairy Tail Fanfics.

Oh and I want to point out that one of the sketches that the brilliant artist, Rboz, also inspired this little snippet.

Fact: The title means deceptive goal and hope...well, I know it isn't fitting. However, I guess you can say the old Gajeel would have called it that. I don't know...


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